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1. It’s happening: Shelby takes over Appropriations this week.

Sen. Richard Shelby’s ascent to Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee should be complete this week.

Here’s what’s about to happen…

This afternoon, Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee will meet to nominate a new chairman – presumably, Shelby.

Tomorrow, when Senate Republicans meet for their Tuesday lunch, Shelby’s chairmanship will be discussed and, presumably, blessed by the the full GOP Senate Conference.

Tuesday evening, a Conference Resolution will make its way to the Senate floor, where the full Senate will have an opportunity to vote. That’s likely to happen by unanimous consent.

In any case, by Wednesday morning Shelby expects to be working as Chairman.

He’s not wasting any time getting settled.

Read more about what to expect this week, including how it pertains to national defense, HERE.

And, because Shelby’s rise to this influential perch has been decades in the making, don’t miss the throwback Shelby campaign ad: “Mr. Speaker, Point of Order!”

2. Red Snapper season extended.

The State of Alabama finally has its long-sought relief from the federal government to manage its own reef-fishing program.

That means recreational anglers can fish for Red Snapper pretty much every weekend this summer.

Alabama and federal waters will be open for Red Snapper fishing every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from June 1 through September 2. Fishing will also be allowed on days surrounding the July 4th and Labor Day holidays. The two fish per person bag limit and 16-inch minimum length restrictions remain in place.

Draconian limits have long frustrated fishermen and state conservation officials, who argue the species’ abundance doesn’t warrant such strict protections.

Sen. Richard Shelby made the decision possible by placing language in a 2017 federal spending bill directing NOAA to authorize pilot programs of this sort. Congressman Bradley Byrne has fought federal officials tooth-and-nail arguing common sense from the coast. And Gov. Kay Ivey is directing the Dept. of Conservation to set the state Red Snapper season at 47 days.

3. Auburn raises $1.2 billion.

Auburn University’s “Because this is Auburn” capital campaign has ended with more than $1.2 billion raised.

That’s a huge total – a state record for a university capital campaign, actually.

One third of the campaign – or about $400 million – will be set aside for the endowment, which is invested to return perpetual revenue for programs, scholarships, professorships, etc.

Of note- the university says 2,108 merit and need-based scholarships will be created out of this campaign, and it will also fund scholarships for first-generation students . That’s a big deal in this era of soaring college costs.

4. Are you available to interview the governor?

Have you noticed this headline or something similar popping up in various news feeds over the past few days: “Gov. Kay Ivey sits down for wide-ranging interview…”?

The thing is, it’s only a couple of interviews. But, because Ivey’s team has been clever in choosing the timing and the media outlets, the coverage has blanketed the state.

The timing? Approaching one year since taking office.

The outlets? Raycom and the Associated Press.

Why it matters

Indulge me a mini communications tradecraft tutorial…

Here is Ivey’s interview with WSFA, which is worth a watch. WSFA is a flagship station of Raycom, which owns market-leading stations in Birmingham (Fox6),Huntsville (WAFF), and Columbus/Opelika (WTVM), and has a content agreement with a competitive station in Mobile (Fox10). So, that one interview is actually getting a lot of airtime around the state this week.

Here is the other interview with Associated Press reporter Kim Chandler. Most every media outlet with an AP subscription will likely run this in some form, non-Raycom television stations included.

So, while two outlets (AL.com & NBC13 Birmingham) are beating up the governor pretty good for not attending their co-hosted debates, Ivey’s team has deftly chosen to go around them and reach a much larger audience.

It’s a smart move, and I’m told these targeted interviews will continue.

5. 60 Minutes highlights EJI’s lynching memorial; set to open April 27.

Oprah flew to Montgomery a few weeks ago to tour the Equal Justice Initiative’s new memorial to lynching victims.

Be warned: it’s tough to watch, and it should be. I thought Oprah did a good job of posing a few counter viewpoints to EJI Founder Brian Stevenson, which he did a good job of answering.

The lynching memorial is set to open on April 27. I drove by the site yesterday and I can tell you that (1) they are furiously working to complete the project on time, and (2) it is an impressive site just looking from the outside.